Uranus is a very strange planet. When it was first discovered, people wanted to name it Dumbbell. This was because the planet made scientists look like dumbbells by going undiscovered for so long.
 
Uranus is the only known planet that rotates, or spins, on its side. Scientists think that Uranus was knocked onto its side during formation by an Earth-sized object. There is an ongoing battle between scientists about Uranus' North and South poles. Neither one is up, so you can't tell which is which!
 
Here are some other weird facts about Uranus. One of Uranus' moons, Umbriel, has a bright ring on it called the Florescent Cheerio. From what they've seen, astronomers think it is the bottom of a crater.
 
Uranus is also one of the brightest planets when viewed from Earth. This is because of its glowing gases. Uranus is equivalent in brightness to a sixth magnitude star. Its North and South poles have alternate 42-year periods in sunlight. Although Uranus appears bright, it is pitch black on the surface of the planet. Someone once compared taking a picture on Uranus to photographing a ball park at night by the light of one candle!
 
Uranus is also very big and windy. Fifty Earths could fit inside of it, but they probably wouldn't stay inside because the 200 mile-per-hour surface winds would pull them out!
 
As you can see, Uranus is pretty interesting. Scientists are learning new things about it every day.